The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the River Dove (which also flows through the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

, forming the boundary between

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and Staffordshire). The Manifold rises at Flash Head just south of

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Axe Edge, at the northern edge of the White Peak, known for its

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

beds. It continues for before it joins the Dove. For part of its course, it runs underground (except when in spate), from Wetton Mill to Ilam. During this section it is joined by its major tributary, the River Hamps. Villages on the river include Longnor,

Hulme End Hulme End () is a small hamlet in Staffordshire, England. It is located in the Peak District National Park about 10 miles north of Ashbourne. A natural gateway to the Manifold valley, the settlement is located beside the river Manifold where ...

and Ilam. Its name may come from Anglo-Saxon ''manig-fald'' = "many folds", referring to its

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

Manifold Way

The Manifold Way is an

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...

from

to Waterhouses, along the former route of the narrow-gauge (2' 6")

Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MVLR) was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, England that operated between 1904 and 1934. The line mainly carried milk from dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the system. It also ...

which operated between 1904 and 1934. Opened in July 1937 after the LMS handed over the trackbed to Staffordshire County Council, it is tarmacked throughout. The Manifold Valley Visitor Centre is housed in Hulme End Station, which also has a model of the railway.

Limestone crags and caves

The limestone cliffs that fringe the valley contain several rock-climbing areas, and named rock features, including

Thor's Cave Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave) is a natural cavern located at in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire, England. It is classified as a karst cave. Located in a steep limestone crag, the cav ...

() and

Beeston Tor Beeston Tor () is a limestone cliff in Staffordshire. It overlooks the confluence of the River Hamps with the River Manifold, and is a popular venue for rock climbing (seasonal restrictions for rock climbing apply). There was a small station ...

(), which overlooks the confluence with the River Hamps.

Mining in the Manifold valley

The Manifold valley was famous for the mining of copper and lead, and the mines at Ecton were some of the richest in the country. The discovery of Stone Age implements in some of the caves imply that minerals were mined around the Manifold valley thousands of years ago. Nowadays there is little trace of the industry that made many people (mainly the Duke of Devonshire who at one time owned the Ecton mines) very rich. The main areas of interest are around Ecton where the old spoil banks and the old engine house still remain.

Ecology

The river has been noted as being important for

European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...

and

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

. In the underground section of the river where it resurfaces at Ilam, the bullhead have no pigmentation. It was previously a stronghold for white-clawed crayfish, but most of the river's population were wiped out by crayfish plague in 2008. Crayfish have been noted in the tributaries of the Manifold and it is hoped that re-colonisation can be achieved by the surviving upstream crayfish.

References

External links